As the world is consumed by COVID-19, I check in with author and American expat Tiffany Parks, who lives on the outskirts of Rome, to get a sense of what things are like in Italy right now. Then, in my quest to find positive stories to share in this dispiriting time, I play an episode of The Bittersweet Life — the travel podcast Tiffany co-hosts with her friend Katy Sewall — about so-called travel angels, the unsung, everyday heroes who assist in small and not-so-small ways when we’re in a foreign place and need a helping hand.

This episode includes the song “Impromptu in Blue,” which was licensed from composer Kevin MacLeod under a Creative Commons Attribution license.

Far From Home is a podcast where award-winning public radio journalist Scott Gurian visits parts of the world that most people never think about and tells stories they've never heard. For more info, visit farfromhomepodcast.org